The Real World: Degrassi
by SonnyAngel
Summary: what if the kids of Degrassi met on the Real World?  These characters will be slightly changed but their core personalities are still intact.  They are seven strangers picked to live in a house and have their lives taped on Degrassi street.
1. They meet

The Real World: Degrassi

Author's Note: I came up with this crossover idea while watching an episode of the RW/RR challenge: Inferno 3. I thought the drama was so intense and it made me think of the N's tagline for Degrassi "it goes there" so that made me wonder what if Degrassi were written like an episode of Real World. This "story" will have thirteen chapters (just like RW has 13 episodes) with a fourteenth chapter written like a reunion amongst the cast members.

I hope you enjoy it. Please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi nor the Real World. Degrassi is owned by Linda Schyuler and Epitome Productions and Real World is owned by Bunim/Murray Productions and MTV.

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_This is the true story of seven strangers picked to live in a house and have their lives taped to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start being REAL--_

**The Real World: Degrassi**

_**Characters:**_

_Emma Nelson__--18_

_Toronto, Ontario, Canada_

_Sean Cameron__--19_

_Wasega Beach, Canada_

_Manny Santos__--18_

_Miami, Florida_

_Jimmy Brooks__--22_

_Raleigh, North Carolina_

_Paige Michelchuk__--21_

_San Francisco, California_

_Spinner Mason__--21_

_Minneapolis, Minnesota_

_Marco Del Rossi__--23_

_Manhattan, New York_

Episode One-They meet

Having grown up in the Toronto area, Emma Nelson was thrilled when she was picked to a part of the show, especially when she figures out she lives only thirty minutes away from the Real World: Degrassi house.

She grabs her last bag and heads out the front door of her house. She's horrified when she sees her mother, Christine, and her step-father, Archie, waiting for her in the car.

"Mom!" she wails. "You are NOT dropping me off at the house like I'm a baby!"

Christine rolls her eyes at her overly-dramatic daughter and got out of the car. "Emma, it doesn't mean you're a baby if we take you to the house," she says calmly. "Besides, I want to make sure the house is safe."

Emma turns to her step-father. "Snake! Help!"

Archie steps out of the car and leans across the hood. "I think she's right, Christine," he tell his wife. "She's a big girl. She doesn't need her parents dropping her off like this is the first day of kindergarten."

"Thank you!" Emma turns to her mother. "Mom, I promise I'll be fine. I called a cab and it'll be here any minute."

As if on cue, a taxi pulled up to the curb. Christine looked at her daughter silently. Finally, she turns to her husband. "Take her bags out of the car and put them in the taxi."

Emma squeals and hugs her mother. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise you won't be sorry."

_Emma's confessional_

"_I'm so glad I changed my mother's mind about dropping me off at the house," she says into the camera. "Can you imagine what my roommates would have thought if I had walked in with my mommy? Talk about embarrassing situation."_

_Meanwhile, across town..._

Sean Cameron steps off the bus in downtown Toronto and shifts his duffel bag on his shoulder. He looks at the map in his hand and determines which way to go to get to the Real World house.

He makes his way through the streets until he stops in front of a building that stretched across an entire block. He lets himself in and drops his bag in the entryway.

As he walks further into the house, he is amazed by what he saw. The rooms are huge, with high ceilings. The kitchen was is off the living room with a huge built-in refrigerator.

_Sean's confessional_

"_The house is phenomenal," he says, "like nothing I've ever seen in Wasega beach. I think I'm gonna like living here."_

Sean went through the house in amazement. There were four bedrooms in total. Three of the bedrooms held two double beds each, while the fourth bedroom, the smallest of them all, held one single bed.

As he was discovering his new digs, Sean heard the front door open and voices trail in.

"Whoa! Get a load of this!" A male voice boomed.

"Oh, my God, we're going to be living here?" a girl's voice queried.

Sean goes out to greet them. He sees a wheelchair-bound boy and a dark-haired girl in the living room. "Hey, are you my roommates?"

The girl moves toward Sean and extends her hand. "I'm Manny," she introduces herself. "And that's Jimmy."

Sean shook her hand and nods at Jimmy. "Do you two know each other?"

Manny shook her head. "Nah, we just met at the airport. I'm from Miami and Jimmy's from..." she turns to Jimmy, "where again?"

"North Carolina," Jimmy reminds her, with a slight Southern drawl.

The front door opened again and another girl, this time a blonde walks in followed by a boy with short, spiky hair. "Hi!" the girl greets enthusiastically. "I'm Paige."

The boy stepped up behind her and introduces himself. "I'm Spinner."

The others introduce themselves to them and lead them on a tour of the house. "I wonder when the other two are getting here," Manny wonders aloud. "I'd like to figure out the room situation."

"Yeah, I'd like to figure that out too," Paige concurs.

_Paige's confessional_

"_I'm not ashamed to say I want that single room," she laughs. "That would be sweet! Being the only girl in my family, I've never had to share a room with anyone. I don't really want to start now."_

Outside, Emma's cab pulls up to the curb. When she opens the door and enters the house, Sean is the first person she sees.

Sean's eyes light up when Emma walks in. "Hey, "I'm Sean."

"I'm Emma," she says with a smile. "Is everybody here?"

_Sean's confessional_

"_When Emma walked in the house, I was like 'wow', she's hot," Sean says into the camera. "I think she's someone I would like to get to know."_

Sean shook his head. "Yeah, well, almost," he tells her. "There's a few people in the other room."

At that moment, Emma was surrounded by the others as they all introduced themselves.

_Manny's confessional_

"_I think Emma might be the person I most relate to," she tells the camera. "That's not saying anything about Paige because I'm sure she's very nice. I just think Emma and I will have more in common."_

While they were all sitting around the living room, the door opened again and a dark-haired boy walks in. "Hi, am I the last one to arrive?" he asks, when he sees everyone.

"Yeah, what's your name?" Paige asks.

"Marco." He looked around the room. "Wow, impressive. Is the rest of the house like this?"

"See for yourself," the others told him and they followed him as he explored the house.

As they walk, Paige announces, "I think now's the time to figure out the room situation. Who's going to get the single room? I think it should be a girl, since there's only three of us."

"Why can't it be a boy?" Spinner wonders.

"Well, hon," Paige starts, "that would mean one of the girls would have to room with a boy. Is anyone willing to do that?"

Manny speaks up. "I'm okay with that. I have three brothers so I've seen it all." She turns to Emma. "But I was kinda hoping we could room together."

"That's fine by me," Emma says with a smile.

"Well, I don't want to room with a guy so I guess that leaves the single for me," Paige announces.

The guys laughed but all agreed to let her have it.

_Paige's confessional_

"_Yay! I got the single room," she squeals. "Honestly, I think it only made sense. I mean, Emma and Manny are the youngest. What could I possibly have in common with them?"_

Sean and Jimmy decided to room together which left Spinner and Marco to pair up.

"Who's hungry?" Manny asks, after everyone had deposited their bags in their respective rooms.

"Emma, where's a good place to eat around here?" Paige asks the younger girl.

"I know this great diner," Emma answered. "It's sort of eclectic, with lots of different foods on the menu."

They all changed into fresh clothes and trooped out of the house thirty minutes later. Emma led the way to the Dot Grille and they found a booth in the corner.

"So, Jimmy, tell us what happened to you," Spinner urged, indicating the wheelchair.

Jimmy grinned. "I was wondering when someone would ask me that," he says. "I was shot."

Manny gasped audibly. "Oh, my God, when?"

"When I was a sophomore in high school," he answered. "A guy who had been bullied brought a gun to school. He had a grudge against alot of people and unfortunately, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Wow," Emma says, "what happened to the guy?"

"He shot himself."

There was a lull in the conversation as each of them thought about Jimmy's words.

It was Marco who broke the silence. "I'm gay," he announced.

Spinner laughed. "Did you just come out or something?"

"Nah, I've been out since I was fifteen," Marco grinned. "I just thought I'd change the subject."

Their food arrives at that moment and Emma raises her soda. "To getting to know each other," she toasts.

"To getting to know each other!" they repeated as they all clinked glasses.

_Emma's confessional_

"_I think this going to be a great experience," she enthused. "Everyone seems so nice. I hope we can all be friends after this is over."_

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_NEXT ON THE REAL WORLD: DEGRASSI_

_Jimmy's confessional_

"_My roommates are pigs! No one cleans up after themselves."_

"Hey, who used my toothbrush?" Jimmy yells from the bathroom.

_Manny's confessional_

"_Okay, let me just say, Paige is a bitch."_

"Who died and left you in charge?" Manny yells at the older girl.

"Someone has to be in charge," Paige yells back, "you're obviously too immature to make the right choices!"

_Marco's confessional_

"_I'm surrounded by immature babies," he says. "What have I gotten myself into?"_

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(Author's Note: Well, the first chapter is done! Hope you enjoyed it. Please review! I really would like feedback on this one.) 


	2. the honeymoon is over

The Real World: Degrassi

Author's Note: Okay, here's the next installment of the story. I'm going to "produce" this just like the Real World...a new installment will be posted every Thursday. I picked Thursday because that's the day I just happened to post the first chapter. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I'm enjoying writing it.

I do not own Real World or Degrassi, they are owned by Bunim/Murray Productions and Epitome Pictures, respectively.

See chapter one for complete cast list, ages and hometowns.

Now, on with the show...

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_Previously on The Real World: Degrassi_

_Sean arrives at the house, followed by Manny and Jimmy, Paige and Spinner, Emma and finally Marco._

_Paige announces, "I think the single room should go to a girl since there's only three of us."_

_Spinner asks, "why can't it be a boy?"_

_Paige in confessional: "Yay! I got the single room!_

_Manny wonders aloud, "who's hungry?"_

_Paige asks local girl Emma, "where's a good place to eat?"_

_The cast goes to the Dot Grille where Jimmy tells them his story and Marco comes out to his roommates._

_Emma in confessional: "This is going to be a great experience!"_

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Chapter Two: the honeymoon is over 

It's nine o'clock in the morning and Paige is on the phone with Hazel, her best friend from San Francisco.

"So, tell me about the house," Hazel urges her friend.

"Oh, it's unbelievable, Haz," Paige begins. "There's a pool table, jukebox, hot tub, you name it. And there's this huge, I mean HUGE, fishtank filled with seven different type of fish."

"Seven, huh?" Hazel giggles, "that's appropriate."

"Yeah, subtle, huh?" Paige laughs.

"So, how's your room? Who do you room with?"

"I actually got my own room," Paige says, triumphantly.

"Really? How did you manage that?"

"Oh, you know me, Hazel," Paige tells her, "I always get my way."

Hazel burst out laughing. "Yeah, I know you all too well."

Manny walks by and stops in front of Paige. "Hey, who are you talking to?"

Paige looked up. "My best friend."

"Oh," she says quietly. "So, um, do you think you'll be on long?"

Paige shrugged. "I just got on. Why?"

"Oh, I just wanted to call my boyfriend before he left for work, that's all," Manny tells her. "Can you tell me when you get off?"

Paige agrees and Manny walks away.

"Who was that?" Hazel asks.

"Manny something," Paige began, "she's from Miami. And just between you and me, she's a total drama queen."

"Uh-oh," Hazel laughs again.

"What? Why are you laughing?" Paige demands.

"Oh, nothing," Hazel giggles. In a sing-song voice, she adds, "there's gonna be trouble."

"What? Why do you say that?"

"Because, Paige," Hazel began, "there can only be one diva in the house. And you're it."

A little bit later, Manny walks into the kitchen where Emma is spreading cream cheese on her bagel. "Hey, I thought you were going to make a phone call?"

"I was," Manny says, slumping into a seat at the counter, "but _Paige_ is on the phone." She rolls her eyes at the mention of Paige's name.

"Oh, well, I'm sure she'll be off soon," Emma assures her.

"I hope so," Manny says. "Craig goes to work soon and if I miss him, then I have to wait till he gets home tonight."

Marco walks into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. "What's going on, girls?" he asks, as he pulls out the orange juice.

"I'm just waiting for the phone," Manny tells him. "Princess Paige has been on for-freakin-ever."

_Marco's confessional_

"I felt so bad for Manny. She _looked like she was going to cry. I saw Paige on the phone and she didn't look like she was getting off any time soon. It made me want to step in on Manny's behalf."_

"Hey Paige?" he called out from the kitchen.

"Yeah?"

"Are you almost done with the phone?"

"I'm off now," Paige answers.

Manny jumped up and hugged Marco. "Thank you, Marco," she says before running out of the room to use the phone, passing Paige on the way.

A minute later, Manny slams the phone down. "I missed him!" she announced, before returning to the kitchen. "Thanks alot, Paige," she yells at the older girl. "I told you I needed to use the phone."

Paige looked at her innocently. "It's not my fault you woke up late," she informs her, snottily. "If you knew you had to call him early, you should have gotten up earlier."

Manny glared at her. "You're not seriously trying to tell me what to do, right?"

"Someone should."

"Who died and made you boss of me?" Manny yells.

"Someone has to be in charge of you!" Paige yells back. "You're obviously too immature to make the right choices!"

"Whatever, Paige!" Manny retorted before storming off.

_Manny's confessional_

"_Okay, let me just say...Paige is a bitch. I can't believe her."_

_She lowers her head as tears well up in her eyes. "I know she thinks it's no big deal but I really wanted to talk to Craig. This is the biggest thing I've ever done but it's also the first time we've been separated. I just really wanted to hear his voice. I really really miss him."_

Emma walks into her room where Manny was angrily pacing the floor. "I can't believe Paige," she fumed. "And she doesn't even have the decency to act sorry. Now I have to wait till seven o'clock tonight to call Craig."

As the girls deal with their drama, Jimmy faces one of his own. He sighs as he wheels himself into the common bathroom. There are four sinks and a huge walk-in, roll-in shower. The toilet is to the back of the bathroom surrounded by a curtain for privacy. At the moment, wet towels covered the floor, hair lay in each of the four sinks. The room looked and smelled bad.

_Jimmy's confessional_

"_My roommates are pigs," he deadpans into the camera. "No one seems to clean up after themselves. I go into the bathroom and couldn't believe the mess. Things are going to have to change."_

Jimmy rolls out of the bathroom and calls his roommates into the living room.

"Okay, guys," he addresses them, once they have all gathered. "I hate to be nit-picky, but I just went into the bathroom and it's a mess."

"I didn't do it," Paige says, "I took a shower this morning and cleaned up my area."

"I didn't accuse anyone, Paige," Jimmy tells her, "I'm just making a statement of fact. The bathroom is a mess. And I don't know if you're aware but I'm in a wheelchair," he adds, slapping on the arms of his chair, "I can't have anything on the floor that will block my chair and there's towels all over the floor."

Marco spoke up. "Okay, man, we get your point." He looks around at the others. "I think we all will be a little more diligent about cleaning up from now on. Right, guys?"

Everyone nodds and gets up to continue what they were doing. Sean and Spinner return to their XBOX game, Manny and Emma return to the movie they were watching and Paige finishes her manicure.

Jimmy sighs, knowing that the issue hadn't been resolved. No one had volunteered to go into the bathroom to clean up the mess.

Marco turns to him. "It'll be okay, buddy," he assured him. "We'll work it out in the long run."

Marco and Jimmy end up doing the cleaning. As he is clearing off the sink, Jimmy notices his toothbrush on the holder and it's wet. He knew he had brushed his teeth hours ago and it should have been dry by now.

"Who used my toothbrush?" he yells.

Marco turns around. "What?"

"My toothbrush," he repeats, "it's wet."

"So?"

"Someone used it and it wasn't me in the last hour," Jimmy tells him.

Spinner and Sean appear in the doorway. "What's with all the yelling, man?" Sean asks.

"Did you either of you use my toothbrush today?"

"Uh, no," Sean answered. "I have my own."

"Hey Jimmy, maybe it just got knocked into the sink by accident," Marco suggests.

"I don't think so," Jimmy says, "I saw it in the holder just now soaking wet."

"I'm getting sick and tired of you accusing us of using your toothbrush, man," Sean tells him, "we said we didn't, so until you have proof, drop it."

Jimmy stares after him when Sean leaves the room. "I can't believe I'm rooming with him."

Marco rolls his eyes behind Jimmy's back.

_Marco's confessional_

"_What have I gotten myself into?" he asks the camera. "I'm surrounded by immature babies. First, Manny and Paige fighting over the phone, now Jimmy and his toothbrush issue. Jimmy, so someone used your toothbrush. Yeah, it's nasty, but it's not gonna kill you. Just buy another one! Stop being such a drama queen!"_

Later, as everyone is getting ready for a night at a local dance club, Paige approaches Manny in the bathroom. "Listen, I don't want there to be any hard feelings between us."

Manny looks at her warily. "Okay, neither do I."

"So, I'm sorry you didn't get to call your boyfriend this morning," Paige says. She smiles sweetly at Manny. "Can we just hug and be friends again?"

She throws her arms around Manny's shoulders so that Manny is forced to hug her. "Okay, Paige, I forgive you," she says as she pats Paige's back.

Paige squeals excitably. "Okay! Now let's go have fun!"

_Paige's confessional_

"_So I apologized to you, Manny," she shrugs, "doesn't mean I'm going to give up the phone just so you can call your little boyfriend. Welcome to the real world, hon." _

_Manny's confessional_

"_I don't believe for one second that Paige is really sorry about this morning," she says, "but I forgave her anyway because I'm the bigger person. How's that for 'immature', Paige?"_

_Emma's confessional_

"_I'm so glad Manny and Paige have made up," she says excitably. "We're starting our new job tomorrow so tonight we're all going out to celebrate."_

At the nightclub, Emma and Manny are on the dance floor dancing to a club mix. Sean and Spinner are watching them.

"What do you think of Emma, man?" Sean shouts to be heard over the music.

Spinner shrugs. "She's cute and all," he says, "but I prefer someone like Manny. Her body is _smokin'_!"

"She has a boyfriend, man," Sean reminds him.

"So what?" Spinner says, "I don't see him anywhere."

Sean shakes his head as Spinner laughs to himself. He turns back to Emma and watches her dance. He takes a long pull on his beer and joins her on the dance floor.

He leans close to her ear. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Emma laughs and shakes her head negatively. They end up dancing together for the rest of the night.

_Emma's confessional_

"_I think Sean's cute," she says, "he's got that bad boy quality to him but he also looks like he can be sweet."_

Meanwhile, Spinner has joined Manny on the dance floor and attempts to grind with her. She pushes him away and slaps him. "Jerk!"

"What? I was just dancing," Spinner protests. "What's wrong with that?"

Manny merely glares at him before storming off the dance floor. Spinner looks mystified for a second before turning his attention to a slutty-looking blonde.

_Spinner's confessional_

"_Hey, Manny's loss is another girl's gain," he explains to the camera. "If she doesn't want any of this (he flexes his bicep), then I'll find someone else who will."_

The kitchen clock reads _1:30 am_ by the time they all arrive back at the house. Spinner and Paige head to the kitchen. Manny to her room, and Sean and Emma to the living room couch.

Marco and Jimmy had returned to the house earlier and were already in bed.

"I'm hungry!" Spinner announces drunkenly, as he begins taking food out of the refrigerator.

"Spinner, I think you need to get to bed, hon," Paige advises. "Food is the last thing you want, believe me. It'll only end up in the toilet, if you know what I mean."

"Nah! I'm hungry!" Spinner repeats. Suddenly, he straightens up. "Damn! I should have brought one of those girls home with me! They were HOT!"

"Eww, hon, they were bimbos," Paige tells him from her perch at the counter. "Hardly worth your time."

Spinner eyes her. "What about you? Are you worth my time?"

Paige laughs. "The question is, are you worth mine?" she retorts as she scoots of her stool and heads to her room.

_Spinner's confessional_

_He's very intoxicated. "Damn, what is it with these girls in the house? They can't recognize a true example of male perfection."_

It is now four o'clock in the morning and Spinner has called one of the girls he had met in the club and invited her back to the house. They're making out on the couch when Marco comes out of his room and spots him. He shakes his head, knowing the kid will be regretting his decision to stay up late the next morning when they get to their new job.

_Next on the Real World: Degrassi_

"_Oh, I feel like crap," Spinner moans as he lays his head on a conference room table._

"_Hello everyone, it's nice to see you all here. My name is Jean-Luc St.Clair and I will be your liason to the Toronto Sun. I will help you design, produce and circulate the very first neighborhood paper on Degrassi street."_

_Emma's confessional_

"_This is so cool," she enthuses, "I've always wanted to be a journalist."_

"_Spinner, why don't you just go home if you're going to complain all day," Jimmy tells him._

_Toronto Sun: not to be confused with any actual newspaper in existence in Toronto, ONT or anywhere else in the world_

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(Author's note: I'm on vacation now but I realized I hadn't posted this yet. I meant to upload it before I left so here it is, a few hours late. I promise next week's chapter will be on Thursday like I planned. In the meantime, don't forget to review!) 


	3. preemption

The creators of The Real World: Degrassi (me) regret to inform you that tonight's regularly scheduled episode will not be seen/read. The creator (again, me) traveled to Hollywood earlier this week to revel in all the goodness that is General Hospital and the cast that make up the denizens of Port Charles, New York. Upon return, all thoughts in the mind of the creator (me) have been taken over by reliving the weekend by developing film and reading a glorious book written by one of said cast.

We (I) apologize to you, the readers, for this neglect and promise that the show will commence in its' regularly scheduled time period (Thursday night, 9-ish pm, cst).

Please take this opportunity to enjoy the last two chapters and be sure to post a comment. All criticism is welcome.

Signed (typed),

the somewhat one-track-minded sonnysangel


	4. the first day at work

The Real World: Degrassi

Author's Note: Sorry again about skipping a week of the story. After I got back from my vacation, I was so tired and I had to go right back into work the day after I got back and my schedule has been all flip-flopped so my internal body clock is all screwed up (all I wanted to do is sleep when I was home) so it's taken me awhile to get back in the rhythm. But now I'm back. Hope this chapter is worth the wait. Please remember the two R's...READ AND REVIEW! Enjoy as well.

I don't own any of the Degrassi characters nor do I own the Real World concept.

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_Previously on The Real World: Degrassi_

"_Are you going to be on the phone long?" Manny asks Paige._

_Manny slams down the phone. "I missed him!" she shouts. "Thanks alot, Paige!"_

"_It's not my fault you didn't get up earlier to call your boyfriend, hon," Paige retorts._

_Jimmy in confessional: "My roommates are pigs," he announces. _

_To the others in a house meeting, Jimmy tells them, "the bathroom is a mess."_

"_I didn't do it," Paige defends herself._

"_I think we all will be a little more diligent about cleaning up after ourselves," Marco assures Jimmy._

_Paige and Manny make up. _

_Emma in confessional: "I'm so glad they made up," she says, "we start our internship tomorrow so tonight we're going to celebrate."_

_Sean watches Emma dance then goes to join her._

_Spinner comes home drunk and looks for food. "I'm hungry!"_

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Chapter Three: First day at work

It is almost nine o'clock in the morning and the kids are leaving the house.

_Marco's confessional_

"_Today's the first day of our internship with the Toronto Sun," he says. "We have to be there at nine and already we're running late."_

"Does someone have the directions to the office," Marco asks as Sean locks the door behind them.

Emma waves the computer printout in the air. "Right here," she calls out. "It's just a few blocks away so we don't need a taxi."

As they begin walking, Spinner lags behind. His head is down, hands in his pockets and he generally looks miserable.

"Spinner, hon, you're gonna get left if you don't keep up," Paige tells him.

Spinner mumbles, "that's fine with me. I can go back to sleep."

_Spinner's confessional_

"_I could care less about this internship thing or whatever it is," he relates. "I have a headache, my body hurts all over and I feel like crap." He pauses and grins. "In other words, I had a blast last night and I didn't want to get up today."_

Soon, they arrive at a small storefront office. The words _"Toronto Sun"_ are emblazoned in red block letters on the glass door.

"This is it!" Emma announces and the seven of them troop in the door.

The receptionist looks up at them. "Hello, are you here to see Mr. StClair?" At their collective nods, she continues. "He'll be with you in just a moment, if you'll have a seat."

She motions them toward a waiting room with comfortable couches and chairs. Spinner slumps on the couch and leans his head back. "I want to be buried on this couch," he moans.

Jimmy rolls his eyes at him. "Spinner, why don't you just go home if you're going to complain all day?"

Before Spinner can answer, a well-dressed man of thirty-six approaches them. "Hello, all," he greets them. "My name is Jean-Luc StClair and if you'll come with me, I'll tell you what you'll be doing with us for the next few weeks."

As they walk to a conference room, he asks them to introduce themselves. When they are all seated, he addresses them again. "First of all, welcome to Toronto," he begins. "It's nice to see you all here. I understand one of you is from our fair city?"

Emma raises her hand. "I was born and raised here."

"Good, good," he says, "that'll be an asset you can work to your advantage on this job." He pauses before continuing, "so about this job, what it entails is publishing the very first neighborhood paper on Degrassi street. This is a project that we here at the Toronto Sun have been wanting to get off the ground and now you're going to help us."

He looked around at their faces. All were smiling, with the exception of Spinner.

Jean-Luc continues. "I will be your liason to the Toronto Sun and I will help you design and circulate the paper. If you have any questions, problems or anything, come to me and I'll offer any questions and advice. Are there any questions?"

Emma raised her hand again. When he nods to her, she asks, "will we be writing the articles and stories ourselves?"

"That's a good question," he remarks. "Yes, in addition to publishing the paper, you will be reporting and writing for it. That's why I said that being a native will help you. Since you know the area, you'll know what stories to publish."

_Emma's confessional_

"_Oh, my God, this is so cool!" she squeals. "This is going to be so much fun! I've always wanted to be a journalist."_

After Jean-Luc filled them in on their job, he left them on their own to being the task of delegating jobs.

Spinner lays his head on the table and groans. "Oh, I feel like crap. Now that he's gone, can I go home now?"

The rest decided that Spinner would be of no use to them in his current condition and told him he could leave. As he was walking back toward the exit, Marco caught up with him.

"Listen, Spin, buddy," he begins, putting his arm around his shoulder, "this is going to be a big job for us so I think I speak for everyone when I say, let's not have a repeat performance of last night, okay? We're going to need everyone at the top of their game if we're going to get this paper started."

Spinner nods glumly and leaves the building.

_Spinner's confessional_

"_I'm kind of pissed at Marco right now," he begins, "who does he think he is telling me not to party anymore? He's lucky I didn't say anything at the time but all I wanted to do is get home and go back to sleep. But I don't need him or anybody telling me what to do."_

_Four hours later..._

Marco led the way into the house as they returned from the office. Everyone was in high spirits and were carrying styrofoam cups from Starbucks.

Spinner looks up from his video game. "Hey, how do you feel, hon?" Paige asks him, sitting next to him on the couch.

He shrugs. "Alright," he begins, "so what did you guys do after I left?"

They filled them in on their activities at the office. Jean-Luc had taken them on a tour of the building. They saw how the paper gets started with the layout department, stories editors, advertising department, and then finally at the printers.

"Wow, I wouldn't have minded seeing the printing press," Spinner remarks. "Do you think Jean-Luc will show me next time I see him?"

Since it was past noon, they decided to order in chinese food and called the restaurant. When it arrived, they continued filling in Spinner on what they had done that day, starting with what tasks they had delegated to him.

"I think with your personality, Spinner," Jimmy tells him, "you'd be a natural at sales. I bet you can get anybody to buy advertising space in the paper."

Spinner grinned. "Thanks, I'll try."

Their meeting was interrupted by the telephone. Manny raced to answer and when she didn't return, the others surmised that her boyfriend, Craig, was the caller.

"_Hey baby," Craig greets, "how are you?"_

"Hi Craig! I miss you so much," Manny begins rambling, "but oh my God, today was so cool! We got to meet our boss at the paper and oh my God, he is so awesome!"

Craig listened patiently as she continued talking. They had a good relationship where they balanced each other out. Where she was excitable, he was laidback. Where he was moody, she was happy-go-lucky and didn't let him take himself or life to seriously. They had been together for the past two years and he constantly told her that she was his muse for his songwriting. Craig was an aspiring musician with a construction job on the side to make money. He worked during the day and played music at night in bars and clubs with his band.

"So how was your day?" Manny finally asks him, catching her breath.

"_I'm about to head out for the night," he replys, "we got a gig at Duke's tonight."_

"Oh, I wish I could be there with you," Manny pouts. "Well, good luck tonight, not that you need it."

Craig thanked her and they said goodbye, exchanging _I love you_'s before they hung up.

Manny returned to the living room but found only Sean and Emma. "Where did everybody go?" she asks the budding couple.

"To get showered and changed," Emma answers. "We decided to go out to dinner to celebrate our first day."

"Cool, I better start now if I'm gonna be ready in time," Manny giggles.

After she left, Emma smiles at Sean. "I guess I better start getting ready too."

"You already look great to me," Sean says softly.

An hour and one internet search for Toronto steakhouses later, they headed out the door and into two cabs.

After dinner, Spinner wanted to go out to a club. Paige, Manny, Sean and Emma agreed to go but Marco and Jimmy decided to head back to the house.

The two groups split up into two more cabs with Marco reminding Spinner what he had told him earlier.

_Marco's confessional_

"_I don't know why I'm acting like Spinner's keeper," he says, "but I think someone has to keep an eye on him because the boy is liable to get into alot of trouble on his own."_

_Next time on The Real World: Degrassi_

"_I love this song!" Spinner shouts as he runs onto the dance floor and starts jumping up and down._

_Manny screams. "Oh, my God, someone help!"_

_A policeman walks up to Manny, Emma and Sean. "Is he your friend?"_

_Sean in confessional: "Spinner's in trouble. I don't know what we're going to do."_

* * *

(Author's note: Wow! I'm back with a vengeance. LOL! Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter. I hope it wasn't too boring. I don't know alot about how newspapers are printed or what, so I appreciate any ideas you might have. Remember to click on that little button below that reads "review". I'd greatly appreciate it. Reviews make me write faster, just to let you know. :winks:) 


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